According to reports in The Telegraph, Everton are one of a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing £25m-rated Norwich City attacking midfielder James Maddison this summer.
The report says that the Toffees – along with top flight rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton – are all keen on the highly-rated player, who has made a huge impression and scored 15 goals in all competitions for the Championship club this season.
With the Canaries already confirmed to be out of the promotion picture in England’s second tier, Maddison looks destined to move on to pastures new at the end of the campaign, and the Premier League is definitely calling for the in-demand youngster.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United are a club that will have started to plan for next season after they surpassed the magic 40-point mark in the top flight with a 2-1 win against Arsenal at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Manager Rafa Benitez will be keen to add to his squad during the summer in order for them to progress and move compete further up the standings in the following campaign, and the England U21 international is certainly one of the individuals that simply has to be on his radar given his displays this term.
Here are three reasons the Magpies must hijack Everton’s bid to sign Maddison…
The report in The Telegraph suggests that the 21-year-old only wants to join a Premier League club where he has a realistic chance of playing on a regular basis, and that would certainly be the case at St James’ Park where he would likely be going up against Ayoze Perez, whose link to Real Betis has not impressed Toon supporters on Twitter.
The England U21 international may not get the same opportunities if he joined the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and even Everton – given that they have Gylfi Sigurdsson in that position – and a move to Newcastle could be attractive to him in regard.
Maddison is in demand from a number of top Premier League clubs for a reason, and that is because of the high quality and consistency of his performances this season.
As well as scoring 15 goals and providing a further 11 assists in 46 appearances in all competitions for Norwich – as per Transfermarkt – it is some of his other statistics on the ball that are perhaps even more impressive.
According to WhoScored.com, the attacking midfielder has made a remarkable 106 key passes in 41 Championship outings this term, while he has successfully completed 100 of the 148 dribbles he has attempted.
While Maddison could cost £25m – a fee that would smash Newcastle’s transfer record – it could prove to be a wise investment in the long term.
The 21-year-old looks to have a huge future ahead of him and looks destined to be a star for England at senior level in the future, and he could easily be worth double or even triple that £25m fee in a few years given the way transfer prices are accelerating year on year.
Of course, the attacking midfielder is also hugely talented and could prove to be a key player for the Toon as they look to challenge at the right end of the Premier League table once again under Rafa Benitez.
Do you agree, Toon fans? Let us know below.
